Kefir for Clean Baby Bottles

As with all parenting tips, take this as it is presented – something I learned that I think is useful – that I am sharing.

I have a friend that is trained in toxicology, that is also an awesome home brewer and creator of all manner of Charcuterie. I will freely admit, that if I got this idea from Joe Snuffie on some anonymous internet page I would probably not try it, however I trust my source and he does it with his own baby.

So my friend and I were talking about kids and the conversation turned to how his child had started “hiding” baby bottles around the house, and how nasty an old bottle of milk could get. I could just see the rising expense of baby bottles, as my wife would never let me reuse a bottle that once held moldy rotted milk.

My friend sympathized and shared a tip he uses, which is to put a small kefir grain in with the formula.

Basically all he is doing is inoculating the milk to control the bacteria in it. The baby drinks all he wants before the milk turns to kefir (which takes 30 days or so), and if the half drunk bottle disappears behind the couch the good bacteria in the kefir overpowers the nasty bacteria that makes the milk turn black and nasty.

Kefir is a pro-biotic, which is something a baby needs anyway, so the small amount in the milk could be argued as beneficial to baby, even though I posit that the small amount is relatively neutral.

Now, as a disclaimer – this isn’t for infants – this is for toddlers who are old enough to tolerate honey because of a more established bacterial culture in their intestines. Also before you trust your baby’s health to some crazy internet guy – run this past their pediatrician. I am not a doctor, I just think this is a neat idea that I plan on trying when the boy gets a little older.